Hey guys thought I would finally join here. I do a lot of reading from it and thought I may be able to add some advice from my build to others in the fellow old car enthusiast world

So basically I brought the car bog standard mid 2011 and got into it. Had always loved this model so sold my GX71 and amazingly found this the next day local. Meant to be.




First thing I did was lower it with cutties(was very temporary) and added some 14x6.5 SSR Longchamps.



I then cleaned up the interior and proceeded to rip the old 18R and auto out.




Purchased some brand new BC coilovers for GX71 Cressida and bolted them in the rear. Direct bolt in shocks and springs.




Upgraded the brakes from RX30 to GX61. The lower arm was 10mm longer so added a little camber but if you bolt in all the arms its a direct bolt in. Aslo the bottom of the shock that bolts to the lower arm is different from GX61 to RX30 so make sure you use the GX61 shock base if you are doing this.



I then ripped back into the engine conversion.

Series one 1UZFE with Series 2 wiring(first motor was a series 2 and lunched itself on startup)
Crown mid sump. I wanted to get the engine back as far as I could and seeing I had a 18R in there the crossmember is opposite to the M series Cressidas I needed a mid sump to get in between the steering arm and crossmember. Had to do a slight rear notch to clear the steering arm..
W50 5 Speed manual box
1UZ auto bellhousing with adapter plate. Added pivot point and clutch fork for the clutch setup.
Log headers
Black painted rockers and intake











While all this was going down I was getting my Longchamp outter rims re made and widened.





Car was wired, exhaust, fender mirrors and RX7 oil cooler added etc, then certified for New Zealand roads. And the finished result Im in love with my car haha.






So there she is finished for now. The next on the list over the next 2 months for a track day in september.

F series diff setup added from a Carina
W55 gearbox to handle drifting
Maybe upgrade the radiator. It is doing a great job but might not like the track.

I will update as I do some more things to her. Also pictures and footage when I hit the track for some more drifting in September going to plan. Main aim is to be drifting her reliably before an event here in November called Powercruise.

PS I am on a huge hunt to find my dream car, the wagon version one of these. Once I find one this will be sold(very regretfully) to fund the wagon. Plan to 1UZ VVTi turbo the next one.

Sorry for all the pics and the very brief build process but if anyone has questions if they want to do this I can add more. Keep in mind this doesnt have power steering or IRS. If the 1UZ was dropped into a power steering version it is a lot easier.

I love it and highly recommend this conversion

Nathan

Cheers mate yeah love the 1UZ. Could get power out of a 1J or 2J but nothing like a cool NA for an old car. Yours will be bloody nice when its done.

what is the GX71 equivalent car in the US? I want that rear suspension setup.

Love those wheels, just what I wanted to do with my Longchamps whats the new specs on them?

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1980 Cressida MX32
Old Series Garage

This car is really cool, very understated and not over the top. I love it! Post some pictures of it sideways.

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-Cam
1980 Toyota Celica
1984 Porsche 911
1988 Mazda RX7

I know the Jap spec is the MX73, unsure if thats what you guys have? BC Coilovers in the states make them for this model. http://bcracing-na.info/

They were 14x6.5+11 and I got the outer lips re made to make then 14x8 and 14x8.5. I cant remember the offsets but it was something like -51 and minus -39 or something crazy Tires are 195/45/14



Cheers dude. I had a image in my head and had to stick to it. Had a lot of help from friends here to get the build done so quick.
I was into drifting a few years back quite a bit but it went on hold when 2 boys came on the scene(kids).Always wanted to hit the track again. I didnt build it for drifting, but looked at this one day and thought, "Hang on. 1300kg, manual, 1uz, coilovers... whats stopping me from hitting the track in this??"

I have since put the oilcooler behind the grill as it was not the best mounting position and was grinding on the road. Will make its was back out the front when I get the time to make mounts for it. Will also run some 15's as the tires are cheaper to pop and these 14 inch wheels wouldnt take to kindly to ripple strips.

Excellent thanks.

These cars can really swallow alot of negative offsets. Love your car, just like what Camshaft mentioned, its not over the top.

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1980 Cressida MX32
Old Series Garage

Had an old guy the other day (about 45) pleed with me to not change anything about the car. He must have thought I had just brought it and would make it modern and gay. He got a big smile when I told him I had built it like this and this was the final result. I have since noticed two R32 GTR's in his shed when I drove past last so he knew what my car was. Glad she pleases young and old haha.

Made this for a mate when I finished it. Had a buggered gearbox in it which has since been replaced. Couldnt change to fast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJHMRgQ4WfI

Old 80's style

this is very close to where i'd like to go with my x3. great build...

this is DAMN awesome !!!

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SPARKLE GARAGE
雷 - BANG !!!

i have an mx36. looking to do do a 1uz swap as well. since i have the 4m crossmember i guess i can use the LS400 sump without too much modification. maybe the xcessive UZX73 mounts will work.

lately i have been thinking about wtf i am going to do about the rear end, and maybe you were on the same page. live axle, leaf springs. right now i am on 3" drop blocks and i can't go lower without dragging shock mounts on the street. and the axle sucks, drum brakes, open diff... obviously has to go.

options are anything you have the money and fab skill to handle. Ford axle, mkI supra, later x-chassis IRS, s-chassis maybe.

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So yours is the wagon? I hate you haha. Im guessing it is having leaf rear. Mins solid rear end with springs. I have a Carina GT rear end that bolts into mine. I wonder if it would bolt into yours? Give you the F series rear diff and also can use MR2 disks to convert to disk rear. Just needs a caliper bracket made but we have a cad for this. Im going to use MR2 because they run 14 inch over their disks.

carina GT wasn't available here, so ill have to be more creative.

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Yeah anything is possible ay. Going for a drive in the next few weeks for a possible wagon sighting about 4 hours away. Fingers crossed.

Few shots from a car show in March

the Carina came here in the US as the Corona. nathanRX30, what is the chassis code of Carina your rearend came from?

as for the 1UZ-FE swap, I have an MX62 which is the generation after your RX30 and its front sump but with the same steering box/pitman setup. was the pan placement your only issue? and do the stock headers clear the steering? thanks. and your sled is much dopeness.

also if you could post as much info and pictures of your car as possible, you would be a rockstar. there is so little being told about the X-3 and X-6 chassis

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1993 RMS13 -missile
1982 MX62L Cressida

Um.... Get your info straight before posting. A Carina is a Carina and a Corona is a Corona. They are different vehicles.

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NOT STOCK!

A performance oriented Corona sedan was introduced in 1970, called the Toyota Carina, and available at a different dealership sales channel called Toyota Store.

In North America, the Corona was replaced for the 1983 model year by the similarly sized but front wheel drive Camry sedan and five-door hatchback. Since then, the Camry has grown a size larger than the Corona and its sportier Carina sister car.

The 1970 and 1981 Carina models were sold in most of Europe, but in 1984 they were replaced with the "Carina II" — which was really the 1983 model Corona as sold in Japan with alterations to the headlights, grille and trim.

- i copied this from wikipedia, it may be wrong but im not too sure. sorry i read this and just thought if the chassis codes are similar to a US model the rearend may be on a USDM corona

i'm sure your right and i'm wrong. i'm sorry for posting without knowing full well what i'm talking about. i hope i can learn from this forum as i'm mostly experienced with nissan S-chassis

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1993 RMS13 -missile
1982 MX62L Cressida

This is amazing! I need some 1UZ up in my life...

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Sorry mate Im unsure what the chassis code was for the Carina. I should be able to find out though.

If yours is a front sump then your fine as you can sit your motor forward with a 1UZ front sump engine and it will miss the crossmember and the steering box. With mine being a rear sump I had a small gap between the crossmember and the steering arm, which in turn pushed it towards the steering box. I had to grind a bit of the steering box away, hit the log headers with a hammer to shape and it is sitting 4mm from the steering box

Havent had any issues whatsoever but I did have to add extra rubber strength to the mounts to stop the motor moving as much on full load.

You may just have to run a remote shifter gearbox as yours may sit further forward. Where mine is sitting the stick was perfect, but Im about 40mm from the firewall. Plus I also had to massage the tunnel to get it back that far. If I had to do a rear sump again I would probably just get a 6cylinder crossmember. Then that would fix every issue I had and be such an easy conversion. Cant wait to do a wagon. Im getting all exited again now.